Putin Plays A Golden Card

A rather significant development is soon to take place in the ongoing Ukrainian Crisis and I must admit that, until late Monday, I was completely unaware of it. Thanks to this wise and industrious community, however, we now know of this next escalation.

First of all, many thanks to those who posted and/or emailed this link: https://en.itar-tass.com/economy/725832 Please take the time to read this roughly-translated story. Go ahead. Do it right now. I'll wait...

So, what do we have here? Is this "no big deal"? Is that the reason you haven't seen or heard of this story before now?

Nope. This is a test case, a trial balloon and a warning shot...all rolled into one. This is Vlad, thumbing his nose at Woody and The West. This is Vlad, flipping the golden bird at those who foolishly think that they control the future.

But you need more background. What is Bank Roosiya? Based in St. Petersburg, it is technically the 15th-largest bank in Russia. Occasionally, it is also referred to as "The Kremlin's Bank" and the bank was the only financial institution "frozen out of the dollar" by the sanctions put in place by the US Congress and Woody last week. Here are a couple of "mainstream" stories from the past few days:

Putin also commented on the latest sanction of the US authorities that concerned Russia’s Rossiya Bank, to which international payment systems Visa and MasterCard stopped serving clients on Friday.

The Russian president said he will get his salary via the sanctioned bank.

“I’ve already said that I was going to open an account in this bank, more than that I asked for my salary to be transferred to this account,” he said.

Putin added that Russian authorities should provide any possible support for the clients of the blocked Rossiya Bank, as this “finance establishment has nothing to do with Ukraine crisis.”

“The clients of the bank must be taken under our protection. We also should make sure that neither clients nor the bank will sustain any negative outcome from this situation,” he added.

So, in light of this, what did Vlad do next? He has allowed Bank Roosiya to issue bank notes that are fully convertible into any foreign currency, including gold.

From the Tass link of Sunday, note this section:

"The Golden Symbol of Russian Rouble installation in front of the bank’s office in Perevedensky pereulok in Moscow will symbolize the rouble’s stability and its backing by the country’s gold reserves, the action’s organizers explained to Itar-Tass."

And then note that the article continues:

"The bank Rossiya’s decision to give up foreign currency and start working exclusively with the Russian rouble is a step forward towards converting the Russian economy and banking sector to national currency, Andrei Kostin, the VTB bank president, said in an interview with the Russia 24 TV news channel commenting the decision of bank Rossiya to operate only in the domestic market and exclusively with the Russian rouble."

The article concludes with this:

"We have been moving towards wider use of the Russian rouble as the currency of settlement for a long time...said Andrei Kostin, the VTB bank president...The VTB chief said that Russia should sell domestic products - from weapons to gas and oil - abroad for roubles and buy foreign goods also for roubles...“Only then are we going to use the advantages of the rouble being a foreign currency in full measure,” Kostin said, adding that AB Rossiya would form a vital part of the Russian banking system and would closely cooperate with other Russian banks, which would also expand the rouble’s use in settlements...“A new imperative motive has appeared for that now,” the VTB chief stressed.

As I stated above, this is just a start...a warning shot, if you will. This does not mean that Russia will institute a gold-backed and convertible ruble next week. What this does mean, however, is this:

All that you've read from me, Sinclair, Willie, Turk, Rickards, Butler and others is TRUE. This is going to happen. Eventually, the dollar-creditor nations will rise up. Perhaps it will be during/after the next Major Financial Crisis. Perhaps it will be in response to these and future, ridiculous and unnecessary sanctions. Perhaps it will simply be "time". Regardless...this is NOT a matter of IF, it is simply a matter of WHEN. This Russian trial balloon...this "flipping of the golden bird"...shoud prove this point to you unequivocally:

The next global financial system will not be based upon the endless printing of paper currency, backed by a sole superpower hegemon. It will, instead, be backed with gold.

China, Russia, India, Brazil, South Africa and all of the creditor nations know that this is an eventuality. In this link, a western journalist rolls out all the tried-and-true rationale for "BRICS Supporting Russia":

But the Status Quotians fail to comprehend the real reason these countries are banding together. They KNOW that the days of dollar supremacy and reserve currency status are numbered and they all want to be allied on the same path for the future. Putin's latest move to allow Bank Roosiya to issue currency backed with gold should be viewed by all as a clear sign and/or signal of what lies ahead.

Last week we learned, ( though not officially) that Obama got kicked out of Saudi after two hours.

We then learned of the oil allliances that are being made with China and Russia.

There are other things as we know and TF has so eloquently laid out.

With this news from yesterday about the JPM shutting out Russian banks and money effectively, and Russia's furious attitude, ( because you can mess with many things, but when you mess with someone's money, then it gets personal) it would seem that Russia will now be forced to get their ruble (?) up and running quickly. With the oil alliance made, Saudi furious at the USA apparently, and now JPM's actions, it would seem that the petro-dollar and therefore the world reserve currency status is in deep jeopardy.

While everyone was gushing over the spectacle on TV of a pro-HFT guy and anti-HFT guy go at it, yesterday afternoon we reported what was by far the most important news of the day, one which was lost on virtually everyone if only until this morning, when we reported that "Monetary Blockade Of Russia Begins: JPMorgan Blocks Russian Money Transfer "Under Pretext" Of Sanctions." This morning the story has finally blown up to front page status, which it deserves, where it currently graces the FT with "Russian threat to retaliate over JPMorgan block." And unlike previous responses to Russian sanctions by the West, which were largely taken as a joke by the Russian establishment, this time Russia is furious: according to Bloomberg, the Russian foreign ministry described the JPM decision as "illegal and absurd." And as Ukraine found out last month, you don't want Russia angry.

P.S. Interesting action in the opposite direction in crude, it has dropped strongly from 101.41 to 99.20 in the last 24 hours or so... might be due for a bounce.

I admire the all-encompassing sagely approach used by Rickards and Duncan. This is a new favorite as it expands the length of the end of US capitalism and the shift towards "creditism" as we left the gold standard. He doesn't address the potential abandonment of the US dollar, and , therefore, believes this could continue for a decade before DEBT:GDP is extreme (i.e. Grecian levels).

to throw a monkey wrench into the system. He has every right to do so as well. If the western bankers would pull their greedy heads out of the sand to see they have pushed their welcome well past their time to leave the party folks might respect them more.

This is just one more international step in showing western bankers they have gone past any level of sanity in an attempt to rip off the world.

The saga in the Ukraine continues, folks, and so many of you sent me this article that I cannot thank you by name, but it’s worth talking about and bringing to everyone else’s attention. But before we get to it and my commentary, let me be clear once again. I do believe that Ukrainians had valid concerns about their previous government and its oligarchs, and that many Ukrainian protesters were legitimately voicing their concerns. At the same time, I do believe that the crisis, if not created or fabricated by Washington, was certainly exploited by it through its various fronts, and I also believe that it deliberately funded and used the most vile and extreme elements within the Ukraine to drive and exacerbate tensions, and that those elements now have a choke hold on that unfortunate country.

That this type of story is only going to increase, for it heralds the beginning of “active measures” and “covert operations” against the west, and that has to have the western oligarchs very concerned.

If gold standard is returning, prior to that or in concord, at least few billion people have to be removed from the Earth. I doubt this decision has been made already to implement now, but it may be coming.

...for the USD and Obammy in general? I'm a contrarian by nature, so I'm trying to come up with some way. I have to admit I'm failing.

I said it before, and I'll say it again. TPTB had to put a half-black man in as president and a half-woman in as Fedhead before they could really let the SHTF. The dominos are lined up, and it is about time for them to kick the can right into the house of cards they had constructed.

Question- does this show itself as a hyperinflationary depression (and hyperinflation is always a political event) or as a deflationary depression (due to debt destruction when countries just start defaulting)?

Either way we continue to expand the farm, stack all the metals- gold, silver, brass, and lead- and try to get away from the system as much as possible.

WOW, to be a fly on the wall. What the MSM media is reporting is so slanted as to be not even believable in the sense that before one could read between the lines and find the truth. Now, things are just plain ridiculous.

More PIV (Putin induced volatility). NUGT, USLV, JNUG for a tidy run up to convert to shiny. Lazer focus, their antics bode well for Turdites. Heck, even consider UWTI for some diversification. Happy investing.

Our current course is one of escalation and I don't think we'll be deviating from it until the fighting stops. The west will not give up the USD without a fight, we've seen some minor moves by western members (Germany) to bridge the gap that's being formed by accepting RNB for some trade business. But this is nothing compared to the overall rift that currently exist and while Germany's economic interest may lay more with the East they are bound and shackeled bythe E.U., Nato, and article 5. The west's power is shrinking but they still have an advantage militarily, an advantage the east is feverishly trying to counter. If there losing on all fronts except one it makes sense to fall back on your trump card. But this is of course an opinion.

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